Macromedia revealed plans for Central a year ago at FlashForward, an annual conference for Flash developers. 'We're really focused now on improving the platform by adding the top things developers have been asking for,' she said. The company expects to have a revamped version of Central ready for a public launch in late summer or early fall, Hickman said, at which time, there should be plenty of applications from the thousands of Flash developers who have downloaded Central development kits. That's part of a deliberately drawn-out product launch intended to give Flash developers plenty of time to familiarize themselves with the technology, said Lea Hickman, senior director of market development for Macromedia. Plus, its leisurely launch, with a developer beta preceding the planned public release by almost a year, hasn't helped build confidence.īut Macromedia executives say Central is coming along nicely, despite the paucity of public support since last year's announcement. Some software architects say Central's benefits aren't evident enough yet to justify the cost of developing for it.

Macromedia faces challenges in getting developers to support Central, a year-old plan to free its Flash format from dependence on a browser.

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